Yoko Ono's daughter Kyoko details reuniting with her mom at 30
Share this @internewscast.com

Kyoko Ono is speaking out over a traumatic time in her life.

At seven years old, she was abducted by her father, Anthony Cox. Despite her mother, Yoko Ono, and step-father, John Lennon, relocating to New York City in efforts to find her, they remained out of touch until she was 30 and finally reached out to her now 92-year-old mother by phone.

“When people hear my story, they don’t grasp what life was like before social media,” shared Kyoko, 61, in a conversation with the Daily Mail. “My mom and John were involved in so many activities trying to connect with me.”

However, she had no idea about the search that was underway for her, and instead, grew up in a cult.

Cox, who was Ono’s second husband, kidnapped Kyoko during their custody battle when he violated a court order.

“It might make me seem indifferent. But I was living on a farm in Iowa,” Kyoko explained in the interview. “We didn’t have a television. Many people don’t realize that such a lifestyle exists.”

By that time, Ono had remarried Lennon, the Beatles singer and guitarist who was assassinated in Decemebr 1980.

In 1971, Cox and his new wife Melinda Kendall took Kyoko to Spain, and enrolled her in a meditation preschool in Majorca. Ono found out about the move through her lawyers, in which she and Lennon immediately flew to Spain to pick up Kyoko from school.

They were then arrested in their hotel room for kidnapping.

Kyoko and her parents ended up going to court, in which the judge asked the child who she wanted to live with. Although she didn’t want to chose, the judge insisted.

“So, I said my dad, and my mom was upset… I felt like I had an impossible choice to make.”

As for her reasoning, Kyoko said, “My mom and John were incredibly busy people. Usually when I went and stayed with them, I had a nanny, and I sometimes wouldn’t see them all day long. And [with] my dad and my stepmother, I’m their only child.”

Cox eventually took Kyoko back to the United States. and on Christmas Eve 1971, despite Ono having visitation rights, he refused to bring Kyoko to her mother.

“When we left Houston, we were on the lam,” Kyoko admitted. “And we went to Los Angeles and we went to a church connected with our church in Houston… and they took us in for a short period of time.”

“Then [the congregation] told us, ‘We’ve prayed about it and you really need to return Kyoko to her mother,’ which was not what my dad wanted to hear.”

Cox then moved his family into The Living Word Fellowship – which was cult dismembered in 2018 due to sexual misconduct allegations.

“Today, as an adult, the biggest irony to me is we left a cult, in a way, when we left the Beatles and John and Yoko. People are fanatical [about them] on the level of being cult members,” explained Kyoko.

“I was very scared by that fame,” she remembered. “So being in this very simple Christian community seemed very safe, like an easier life.”

During that time in her life, Kyoko said they never talked about her mom or Lennon, but she said “there were so many times that I said to my dad, ‘I really want to get back in touch with my mom.’”

Then, after growing up, getting married in 1992 to Jim Helfrich and becoming a teacher, Kyoko decided to call Ono.

“By that point, I’d been teaching at public school for six years,” she recounted. “And I really understood kids and families better than my parents ever had. She wanted to see me right away and then we just started spending time together.”

These days, Kyoko lives a quiet life outside of the spotlight. She and Helfrich, who she divorced in 2018, share kids Emi, 27, and John, 25.

However, Kyoko wants to be able to set the record straight on her life, and her mom and step-dad’s relationship. Ono and Lennon went on to have one son together, Sean, 49. He was also dad to son Julian, 62, with ex-wife Cynthia Lennon.

“I’m not really interested in being a public figure,” admitted Kyoko. “But I am also my mom’s daughter, and I want the story to be told properly.”

She has also forgave the adults who were supposed to protect her.

“They were all such kids,” stated Kyoko. “They were just like little children, all of them. It’s really crazy. Being a parent – it’s a hard thing to do.”

Share this @internewscast.com
You May Also Like
US journalist missing in Norway after backpacking trip, family says

Family Reports US Journalist Missing After Backpacking in Norway

Efforts are in progress to locate an American journalist who vanished on…
Minnesota KTTC Meteorologist Nick Jansen blasted for texting wife during severe weather report

Minnesota Weather Anchor Nick Jansen Criticized for Texting Wife During Storm Coverage

Bad weather cell phone. A Minnesota meteorologist is being dragged by viewers…
Cincinnati brawl timeline: Brutal assault spirals into national firestorm

Cincinnati Fight: Local Incident Escalates into Nationwide Controversy

CINCINNATI – The shocking footage of a chaotic brawl in downtown Cincinnati…

Family Confirms Death of 20-Year-Old Influencer and Musician Chase Filandro in Emotional Tribute

INSTAGRAM star Chase Filandro has died at age 20. The actor’s sister…

Remains of 24-Year-Old Man Found Weeks After a Date From Dating App, Didn’t Return Home

A man was found dead after traveling to meet someone he had…
Bed Bath & Beyond previews Nashville flagship reopening

Bed Bath & Beyond Teases Grand Reopening of Nashville Flagship Store

Remember those iconic blue coupons? Two years after closing all of its…
The Titan submersible underwater.

Detailed Account of Failures in Titan Submarine Disaster Revealed in New Report, Pointing to CEO Stockton Rush’s Negligence

A DAMNING report into the doomed Titan sub has laid a bare…
NYC gunman who blamed NFL for hiding brain injury dangers suffered from sports concussion, mom said

NYC Shooter with Sports Concussion Blamed NFL for Concealing Brain Injury Risks, According to Mother

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The mother of the man who fatally shot…
National Night Out: Chicago, suburban police departments hosting events to strengthen community relationships

Chicago and Suburban Police Host Community Bonding Events for National Night Out

CHICAGO (WLS) — Tuesday is National Night Out, an annual event designed…
ABC7 Chicago Job: Desk Assistant

Unveiling the Unique $32M Collaboration to Boost Wrigley Field’s Security Before the 2027 MLB All-Star Game in Chicago’s Wrigleyville

CHICAGO (WLS) — It’s the second most visited tourist attraction in Chicago.…
Salman Iftikhar on a plane.

Virgin Atlantic Passenger Threatens Hostess with Disturbing Abuse and Threats

THIS is the shocking moment a Virgin Atlantic passenger hurled abuse at…
Middleburg man remembers his friend who was killed by 14-year-old son

Middleburg Resident Reflects on the Tragic Loss of Friend at the Hands of Friend’s Teenage Son

Andrew Jeter, who served alongside David Lee in the U.S. military, wishes…